Is Balsa Wood A Hardwood

Hardwood is a tightly grained timber such as eucalyptus or balsa wood.

Is balsa wood a hardwood.

Balsa lumber is very soft and light with a coarse open grain. There are many more types of hardwood trees than there are softwood. High quality balsa that is balsa with a very low density can be rather expensive when purchased at hobby stores or other specialty outlets. The name balsa comes from the spanish word for raft.

Being a deciduous angiosperm balsa is classified as a hardwood despite the wood itself being very soft. Hardwood is a tightly grained timber such as eucalyptus or balsa wood. Hardwood trees are angiosperms mostly decidous in the northern hemisphere but evergreens in the southern hemisphere while softwoods are conifers. The term hardwood has nothing to do with the hardness of the timber it relates to the closeness of the grain.

Larger boards and lumber sold through typical hardwood dealers is hard to find but generally has a better cost per board foot than other sources. White to oatmeal in colour with high silky lustre. The balsa tree ochroma pyramidale is a fast growing hardwood tree which grows extremely well in the in sub tropical rain forests of ecuador. The trees are harvested after six to 10 years of growth.

This wood is far from the other hardwood that you can see in the market since it has more water in it. Balsa is classified as a hardwood and is actually the softest commercial hardwood available. The term hardwood has nothing to do with the hardness of the timber it relates to the closeness of the grain. Balsa wood is the lightest and softest commercial hardwood timber.

The balsa wood has a solid volume that only consists of 40 of the entire tree. It is the softest commercial hardwood. The green balsa wood is the one that contains five times more water by weight than the actual wood substance. Strength and stiffness approximately 50 that of baltic pine pinus sylvestris.